Emily McBride

Emily is an over-enthusiastic lover of music, books, movies, fashion, and culture in general. Her love of music spans across all genres (what is a genre anymore? she waxes poetic to herself), though she was nursed on true punk and will never understand “redneck country” music – tractors are not and cannot be sexy. Emily currently lives in Brooklyn, NY and considers herself to be a great wit, though she is still waiting on validation from a credible source.

The Wild Feathers + Vinyl Mag

Posted on by Emily McBride

The Wild Feathers decided to grace Athens with their presence, so I scooped up the opportunity to grab an interview with them at the beloved 40 Watt.

You should know this band.  Their song “The Ceiling” recently won the SiriusXM Best of 2013 Listener Poll for The Spectrum Best Song Discovery.  They have already toured with Willie Nelson and ZZ Ward, both BEFORE even releasing their debut full-length.  These Nashville-based folkies are ones to look out for, and when you do, you’ll be an insta-fan.  Like me.

Everyone should be sure to grab TWF’s self-titled debut out now.  And keep an eye on their tour dates here.  You’re gonna wanna see them live.

Black Taxi + Vinyl Mag

Posted on by Emily McBride

So Black Taxi. These guys are the best.

Recently hooked up (professionally) with this NYC-based (self-described) “grit-pop” band at a lil ole bar in Milledgeville, Georgia (random? yes. Unexpectedly awesome? you bet – ended up in a giant warehouse/studio with BT watching our lovely waitress – shout out – blow glass beads for all of us).

If you don’t know this band, you must check out their recently released Chiaroscuro EP.  I also strongly recommend catching them on tour.  In the meantime, fall in love with their awesomeness in our interview below.

Deadstring Brothers Back With Vinyl Mag

Posted on by Emily McBride

Look who we caught up with for a second interview!  We got to follow up with these guys just a few months after our first interview to talk about what they’ve been up to, touring, recording a new album, and what’s next for the band.  We love these guys.  When effortless and interesting conversation is paired with an awesome show, it’s hard to get enough.  Be sure to catch them on tour!

Catching Up with Kevin Devine

Posted on by Emily McBride

Recently got to chat with Kevin Devine for our SECOND interview (I LOVE this job).  In addition to catching up about what he’s been up to since our last interview, we talked about his current tour, his new label Devinyl Records, and the release of his two new albums, Bubblegum and Bulldozer (if you haven’t listened yet…come on…get it together).  Enjoy.

Vinyl Mag: How have you been the last year?

Kevin Devine: I’ve been good, making a record, tending to home life, and getting together for all the stuff this year.

VM: When did you start writing both records, Bubblegum and Bulldozer? Did you write them separately?

KD: I wrote most of both between December and March of this year – all of Bubblegum in that time – and there were a couple of songs off Bulldozer that were ideas. I finished them and wrote a bunch of other songs in that same time frame, though.

VM: Tell me about Devinyl Records.

KD: It’s really not much of an enterprise to talk about yet; we just really wanted to have something to put on the records and something that could be a name to put on any music from this point forward. We don’t know much beyond that. We’re going to put our name on things we like and help artists we like at least have access to our audience. Essentially all it means right now is running it through our social media and putting it out to press people that have a label association. It’s really me and three other guys that manage it, and we’re running it out of their garage. I don’t know what it will become or won’t become, but it is nice, for now, to let it be what it is.

VM: When did you decide to go that route?

KD: I was tired of trying, and I didn’t feel like the label was interested at all. I felt like if a disinterested label could help the record perform in the marketplace, then I could make it myself. At least I’m not putting the armor on getting ready to have a boxing match. We have enough of a fan base that we can go through the people and figure out how the get the records out in the world and somewhat heard. I knew it wasn’t an enormous risk. It wasn’t like starting up and trying to do it. I think the risk was more about whether or not we would be able to take operational steps forward. I kind of thought we weren’t; I thought we were going to have to put the record down. In a secular record label, there’s a bunch of people working there. When you just have three people, that’s not the case, but it was one of the best rolled out albums we’ve ever had. I don’t know if that speaks well of our efforts or poorly about the labels we’ve dealt with; it seems like so far, it’s the most visible we’ve ever been.

VM: How has the response been to the album?

KD: Gratefully, it seems like people have really liked the album. There is a level of excitement that was not present last time. It seems like we are getting some interest from people who were maybe not interested prior. It’s always nice when you’re this far into your career to have new people coming in; it’s not a given. I look at these records as an 18-24 month project, actually more like 30-36 month, from the writing and conceptualizing to where it actually ends. I’m really grateful for the response, but I’m also trying to conserve energy and just put one foot in front of the other. We need to try and sustain some kind of momentum for a while, and my effort needs to be as unflagging as possible. I’m really excited with how it’s come out of the gate, and now it is just trying to keep our blinders up and not worry too much.

VM: What made you decide to release them simultaneously? Did it just happen that way?

KD: No, it was planned from the beginning that way. They were written at the same time and recorded consecutively. To me, it represented a specific time in my songwriting and in our band’s song development. We needed to have them out at the same time to kind of act as counterpoints to one another. They’re very different albums, but you can tell they came from the same time. It’s kind of fun to do something there is not a precedence for. If I had gone into a record label and said I wanted $100,000 to make two records to come out at the same time, they would have scoffed and said no. I think it’s the fun thing about doing it this way – why not? Just do it.

VM: How do you choose which songs go on your solo, and which ones go with the band?

KD: It seems pretty obvious to me which ones went where. I don’t really know, except that there’s something about the chord and voice and the feeling of the songs. You know how there’s up tempo stuff on Bulldozer, and the ‘I-don’t-care-about-your-band’ stuff on Bubblegum? It just seemed like they fit. I think the Bulldozer songs is more about how they were written; with the power chords, it’s just a little more straight up. That stuff was apparent to me as it was getting worked out. The only song where I had two ideas was “She Can See Me”, and I thought Bulldozer was going to have more of a Belle and Sebastian sound, so I took it that way. It ended up going a different way, with the one on Bubblegum having a Nirvana cover sound. They both went different directions even though they’re both pretty up tempo.

VM: Jesse Lacey [Brand New] produced Bubblegum, and I saw in another interview that you said it would have been totally different without him. What inputs did he have on the record?

KD: I think anytime you make a record with anyone, the record would be very different without them. I think it is from collaborating with people. I think the record is very suited to Jesse’s tastes and strengths. We benefitted greatly from him being a “song doctor” who obviously has a lot of experience with the catchy, internalized rock music. He knows how to write rock pop songs that also have brains. There’s a critical difference between punk pop and pop punk. I think Jesse and I saw eye to eye on what I wanted, and I think we got there. It’s fun, bouncy, loose, and wild, but also feels smarter than it could have been.

VM: I saw the “Bubblegum” video – did you come up with the concept?

KD: The director who made the video, Daniel Ralston, came up with that concept. He’s a really funny dude, had this idea, and I thought he executed it really perfectly.

VM: For the lyric video for “Private First Class”, did you have involvement in that?

KD: I kind of think that lyric videos are kind of stupid, but I also thought initially that Kickstarter was stupid. I’m often wrong about things. Just because something is done wrong by a lot of people does not mean you can’t try to do it right. I thought it was an opportunity to use some footage and have it be something interesting. I’m really happy with how it came out.

VM: You’re going to be at The Stuffing this year [in Atlanta]…how did you get involved in it? I know Manchester Orchestra hosts it.

KD: Yeah Manchester Orchestra hosts it – it’s their festival. I’ve been friends with those guys for almost seven years. We obviously did Bad Books together, and we’ve done however many Bad Books tours together. It was basically them asking if I wanted to do it, and the next year, they said they were doing it again. I opted to not do the main day, and am doing the acoustic day. It’s kind of a pain in the ass to be there ’til one in the morning on Thanksgiving and then flying back to New York exhausted. I also usually spend half of those holidays in New York and half in Boston, so it’s a lot of exhaustion and travel. So I had to tell them I wasn’t doing the main day.  I also have a show at Asbury Park in New Jersey the day before Thanksgiving, but since it’s more local I’ll be slightly less exhausted for Thanksgiving.

VM: Besides The Stuffing, what is next for the band?

KD: We have about three weeks left of this tour, all the way from California through the deserts through Texas up the eastern seaboard. Then, in January and February, we tour the UK and Europe. So that’s the plan.

Backstage with Blitzen Trapper

Posted on by Emily McBride

So I got to hang out backstage at the 40 Watt with Portland, OR-based band Blitzen Trapper, because my job is awesome.  They are touring the US in support of their recent release, VII, which came out September 30, 2013.  Go ahead and watch our interview (below) so you can feel like you were hanging out with us.

 

A Proper Goodbye: Breaking Bad series finale ‘Felina’

Posted on by Emily McBride

It’s over.  Finished.  No more Heisenberg.  No more Jesse.  No more science…bitch.

Before we start, just be warned that I’m going to be using the words “genius” and “perfect” a lot in this article.

Breaking Bad has earned its place at the very top of the list of my (and millions of others’) favorite shows of all time.  So I was more than a little sorry to see it go (what am I going to do on Sunday nights now?  Watch Low Winter Sun?  Doubtful).  However, I am so grateful to Vince Gilligan for playing it smart, not dragging it out for three seasons too long just to keep getting paid, and achieving something that so few of my favorite shows have pulled off (*cough* LOST *cough*) – a perfect ending.  Really, the only word that I can think of is genius.  Gilligan is an absolutely brilliant writer; he tied up every loose end so neatly…it was truly poetic.

Before we go on, let me just go ahead and warn you – SPOILER ALERT – although, if you haven’t already watched “Felina” or at least heard about it, I’m not sure if you know what the Internet is, so you’re probably not reading this article.

Here are the main parts of the finale that I want to talk about. I’m going to assume that you have seen all of the seasons and not overly explain the back story.

1.  Walt having Gretchen and Elliott Schwartz act as benefactors for Walter, Jr./Flynn/whatever he’s calling himself these days was absolutely perfect.  In the very first season of Breaking Bad – episode 5 “Gray Matter” – Walt refuses the Schwartzes’ proposition to pay for his cancer treatment.  Walt is completely offended by their offer, continuously bitter about their success from Gray Matter and too prideful to accept their charity.  I mean, he would rather cook meth than receive anything from these people.

Throughout the seasons, this is a continuing theme.  Walt’s never-ending resentment of the Schwartzes’ fortune becomes his pace car, and he continues to measure his own success by how close he is to building an empire that competes financially with theirs.

In addition to his inability to accept charity is his arrogant need to get credit for earning this money for his family, which makes money laundering pretty tough.  He refuses Saul Goodman’s advice to just filter his money through Walt, Jr.’s donation website, SaveWalterWhite.com, unable to accept the credit for their income going to an “anonymous donor.”

In the end, however, the story comes full circle.  Walt goes to Gretchen (who is wearing a fabulous jacket) and Elliott’s house and forces them to take what is left of his money (a mere nine million dollars…chump change) and donate it in the form of a trust to Walter, Jr. on his 18th birthday, knowing that any other way he tried to get it to his family would result in it being confiscated by the government.

So, basically, after all of the five seasons worth of corruption and destruction and death that Walt was willing to cause in order to keep his ego and pride in tact, Gretchen and Elliott still get credit for saving the White family out of charity.  Which means that this was pretty much all for nothing.  Well played, Gilligan…well played.

2.  I was super pumped to get to see Badger and Skinny Pete one last time.  I love those dudes.  And I totally called the whole laser pointer thing…just saying.

3.  Walt’s goodbye to Skyler made me tear up.  When Walt came back to say “a proper goodbye” to Skyler and finally admit to her that all that he did was not, in fact, for his family as he had claimed for so long but was, in fact, for him…dude, that was so raw.  Skyler finally hears the truth from him, and we see a glimpse of the old Walter White.

4.  The way Walt died was brilliant.  He had to die…he just had to.  For a few seasons now, I have rooted for Jesse to be the one to kill Walt in the end.  But when it finally came down to it, I’m glad he didn’t kill Walt in some final face-off where Walt was still fighting.  This end was much more real and heartbreaking.  It was perfect and fitting that Walt’s final act took him out.  He got himself in that room as Heisenberg, and he took himself out along with all of the other scumbags in there.  Everyone in that room deserved to die except for Jesse, and he got them all…including himself (except for Todd.  Todd was a truly despicable character, and Jesse deserved the satisfaction of taking him out).  Jesse is free, and he drives off…into the sunset? To go find and raise Brock?  We don’t know, but we do know that he’s going to be okay.

5.  Walt shooting Jack mid-sentence when he is trying to offer Walt his money back was, again, brilliant.  Heisenberg is dead, and along with him, his greed.  It’s not about that money anymore.  Jack is just too stupid to realize it.

6.  Lydia had to drink that ricin.  I hated Lydia.  From her shakiness to her ruthlessness to her stupid camomile and stevia habit.  I hated her.  That woman needed to go.  I’m so happy that she’s the one who got the ricin and that it was in her tea -that was just elegant.  Maybe that will teach you to use regular sugar like a normal person, Lydia.  Oh wait, you can’t – you’re dead.

The finale of Breaking Bad was badass, yes.  But it was also heartbreaking.  The entire series is honestly heartbreaking.  Witnessing the continuous corruption and destruction of a man who was at one point decent and then seeing him get what is coming to him takes a toll.  It is less satisfying to see Walt reduced to nothing – having lost his family and everything he ever cared about – than expected, as you have been rooting for his comeuppance for so long.  You are reminded that he is a flesh and blood human being, not just some raving monster that you love to hate.  Bryan Cranston’s genius and pure talent really come through here, making the viewer surprisingly sympathetic to Walt, even with all that we know about him.  But still, you know that Walt has to die.

All in all, “Felina” was a perfect ending to a brilliant show.  Now excuse me while I go rewatch all of the seasons on Netflix.

 

On the Line with Zach Lind of Jimmy Eat World

Posted on by Emily McBride

It finally happened.  I got the chance to interview Zach Lind from Jimmy Eat World.  There is really no way for me to write as anything but an obsessive fan on this one, so I’m going to make it short and sweet.

Those of you who have been long-time readers – or new readers who have traveled back to our very first post – know that Jimmy Eat World is one of my favorite bands of all time.  So you know that I was having one of those #bucketlist #icandienow #thatjusthappened #isthisreallife moments during this entire interview.

Amidst my obvious gushing and fangirling during my phone chat with Zach Lind, I managed to get the deets (can’t believe I just said ‘the deets’) about JEW’s new album, Damage, as well as their current tour, Zach’s drum inspiration, and how they manage to keep things fresh after 20 years as a band.  Enjoy.  I’m going to go call everyone I know.

First, I just wanted to know – are you excited to be back on tour?

Yeah. We were home for a few days, and now we’re out again. We have a show tonight in California.

How has the audience response been to the new album?

I feel like it’s been really positive. The response seems like it’s been growing.

How do you choose the set list? I’ve noticed you’ve been adding older songs you haven’t played much before.

That was something we wanted to try for this album – throwing in older songs that we haven’t done. It’s sort of a tricky balance. You want a good mix of songs that people haven’t heard and also the songs that people want to hear. You also have to throw new songs in there as well, so it’s a tricky balance.

Do you have a favorite song to play?

Right now, I really enjoy playing “Appreciation”, with the ups and downs.

Is that your favorite song off Damage?

Not necessarily; it’s just a fun song to play. There’s just something about that song I like a lot. My favorite song would change depending on my mood.

What was the recording process like? Is it a piece of cake by now or do you still have difficulties getting it to sound like you want it to?

I think every album is a challenge. I think as we get older and more experienced, it makes certain aspects easier. But we also start discussing things we didn’t when we were younger. When we were younger, we just went to the recording studio and just kind of made a record and whatever. But now, we pay attention to the little details that go into it. We try to use our experience to make each song as good as it can be. Some songs are easy and some songs are really hard, it just kind of depends on the record. Every record is a challenge.

Do you guys do any recording yourselves when you make an album?

The last few albums we’ve done on our own. There are some good aspects to recording on your own. This record, though, we went to LA; we had a gut feeling that we wanted to get out of town and go somewhere else to have someone else man the reigns. We felt really great about the process and the experience.

What is the most satisfying aspect of being in a band?

I think primarily, for us, the most important element of what we do is making records. The most satisfying thing is seeing a record come together and feeling good about what you’ve done. There’s a certain amount of banging your head against the walls in order to get the record and get the songs to sound the way you want them to. Of course, touring is great and playing for our fans is fun. But at least for me personally I think making a record, and the feeling of being done with a record you’re really proud, of is probably most important.

Is there a certain tone or ambience you try and create on your records or in your live shows?

I think for us, it’s sort of a song-by-song basis. For each song, there is a tone you want to achieve and an overall vibe you want to create. I think for us, we approach it song by song. For live shows, we try to put together a set list our fans will like. We don’t talk too much during a set, we just keep it simple and that’s it.

Jim said he went back to Clarity for influence on the sound and structure of Damage. Did you do the same thing? Or did you look somewhere else for influence?

I can see that; Jim is sort of the grand catalyst in what we do. More times than not, when we start working on a song, it’s something Jim has sort of structuralized. I can see that, and that’s how we make some songs. The sort of logistics of it, how we tracked it, but this is definitely a different record. I think this is more stripped down and natural throughout.

I feel like a lot of Jimmy Eat World songs are drum-based or drum-driven. When do you bring the drums in?

It depends. Sometimes a song can start with drums, and sometimes it can start with acoustic guitar. Every song is a little different.

Do you have full creative control with drums?

Yeah, it’s a group effort when we make records. If someone thinks something doesn’t fit, I’m always up for trying different stuff and making sure what we’re playing makes sense with the song. For the most part, each of us is open to taking suggestions from the other guys. I think we have a really good working relationship in that way.

Does anyone ever come in with a Garage Band drum machine and say, ‘do that’ or do you just come up with everything?

No, no it’s not like that at all. There are some times where Jim will have a drum idea, and I think that’s kind of cool. I’m just trying to find the thing that works best for the song. If Jim just sort of conceptualizes the song in his head, and hears a certain kind of drum beat, that helps me. Even if I don’t end up playing that drum beat, it helps me to know where he’s coming from and know what his initial thought is. Sometimes I’ll just scratch the idea and not use it at all. There’s actually a song on Invented…the title track, “Invented” – Jim played drums for the first half of the song, and I played the second half. That was sort of my suggestion, and it worked out really cool.

I read that your label didn’t even hear Damage until you turned it into mix. Have you always had complete creative control?

Well, we didn’t have a label until we were done making the record. So Damage was already done and we tried to find a label.  Yeah, we can do whatever we want, and there’s never really anyone telling us we can’t do that.

You’ve been doing this for 20 years now, and you’re still delivering really fresh, original material. You’re also staying true to the classic Jimmy Eat World sound. I feel like a lot of the bands that started when you did – and are still around – seem to have sacrificed their sound to cater to new audiences. Are you guys consciously avoiding that pitfall, or does it just naturally come out that way?

I think it’s sort of conscious. The way we work is, for the most part, not trying to attach ourselves to these outcomes that we can’t control. We just want to make it interesting to us. What interests us has changed a little over the course of 20 years. We don’t go into a record saying, ‘We’re gonna make an album that’s more electronic,’ or, ‘We’re gonna make an album that’s more hard rock.’ We sort of write a bunch of songs, then pick the best ones, and those go on the record. It’s pretty simple and we keep it like that. That’s how our process is.

So there’s no Jimmy Eat World dubstep album coming out?

[Laughs} No, I don’t think so…

I feel like there’s a Jimmy Eat World song for everything that has happened to me in my life. I have had people ask me what band would be the soundtrack to my life, and I have always said Jimmy Eat World. Do you listen to your own music or feel that way about your own music?

I guess it’s a little different, but every album sort of represents an era of our band’s history. It’s not in a soundtrack to my life sort of way, but more of a, ‘if you could describe every three years of your life and what you were doing at that time and what your interests were’ way. Every album sort of represents a different period of time with the band. I honestly don’t listen to our music that much apart from playing shows.

Do you have any artists that you would consider the soundtrack to your life?

Oh yeah – U2 and REM are bands that I would see that way.

*Be sure to hit them up on their current tour, and don’t forget to grab your copy of Damage, out now!

Words with Andrew Cedermark

Posted on by Emily McBride

Andrew Cedermark has just released his sophomore album, Home Life, a follow-up to 2010’s major success Moon Deluxe.  In celebration of his recent release (the album came out July 11), as well as his current tour, we decided to ask Andrew a couple of questions.  Check out our conversation below!

Vinyl Mag: Why did you leave Titus Andronicus — when did you decide to do a solo project?

Andrew Cedermark: I left Titus more than four years ago for the same reason people leave a lot of touring bands: I wanted to try my luck living a life in one place, and not always in a car. We toured a lot, and it didn’t agree with me. It wasn’t my music. I was tired of my body smelling like yogurt and wanted to experiment with things like gardening and laundry. On this, my first tour supporting my own music, however, I find myself having a really good time

VM: Tell me about your new album, Home Life — there are some very personal, honest lyrics- what is your writing process?  How long did it take you to write the LP?

AC: I suppose my process is to not simply go with the first, second or third idea that comes, but to compile all ideas that I perceive to be good into songs in whatever way seems most compelling. That obviously happens with varying degrees of success. Writing the lyrics, I spent a lot of time at the library trying to come up with things that I hoped would not be meaningless or pointless.

VM: What was the inspiration behind “Canis Minor” and “Canis Major”?

AC: Directly, these songs are named after a pair of constellations, and I suppose that’s a kind of inspiration. When writing lyrics, all you have to do is write down what you think or feel, make it more vague, then make it more grand, research when people have said something similar to what you are trying to say, incorporate that, and hope that that process offers each listener her own way into the life of that song. Given that, anyone’s guess is as good as mine.

VM: You got a solid review in Pitchfork for Moon Deluxe — they compared you to Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel – high praise! How do you feel about that comparison?

AC: The truth is that when I see a good review I tend to think about the better reviews some of my friends have received. As for Jeff Mangum, it is a far-too-generous comparison, probably one that the writer came up with when struggling against a deadline. That is the reality: you can say anything on the Internet. Overblown sentiments flourish where content is king. If I really had anything in common with Jeff Mangum, I’d likely be a beloved and famous rock-and-roller, but as things go we made $50 last night in Baltimore. To answer your question directly, of course it feels great to be compared to one of the indie rock’s genuine marquee talents. But is the indie-rock pantheon holding a place for me? No! As for reviews, all are welcome.

VM: I’m noticing a lot of bands releasing songs on cassette tapes now — what inspired you to release your split on cassette?

AC: Over the course of several years during which I was recording an enormous amount of music, it just happened that not having released any of it began to make me sad. So I wanted to handmake a product that reflected the care I believed I had put into the music. By this time in history it was coming to be widely agreed upon that CDs were just MP3s plus waste, and I couldn’t afford to press my own record, so … tapes. And I made a box to go with them and sold them over the Internet with color-printed booklets of photographs I had taken, with lyrics handwritten all around. That was really my first release, “Two EPs.” I realize now that this isn’t the tape release you asked about though. A label in Charlottesville run by some friends asked about the possibility of releasing a split tape with a band featuring some friends in the almighty Charlottesville revue Drunk Tigers, and I said yes. The same logic was at work here as above.

VM: What is next for you?

AC: Cleveland!

Phone Chat with Flobots

Posted on by Emily McBride

Flobots emcee and vocalist Jamie Laurie recently agreed to spend a little phone time with me to talk about their new release, their tour, and their plans to record.  I’ve generously embedded the video for the track below so that you can listen while you read our interview.  Immerse yourself and enjoy.

VM:  Where are y’all?

Jamie Laurie: We were just [in Georgia]. We are in Chicago.

VM: How is the tour going?

JL: It’s going good so far. We are getting close to done.

VM: You’ve got like a week left?

JL: Yeah. Five more shows and a lot of driving.

VM: Do you have a show tonight?

JL:  Yeah. A show tonight in Chicago and tomorrow night in Cleveland. Then a day off in Milwaukee, Minneapolis. Then a day off in Kansas City.

VM: What are you doing on your day off? Just driving?

JL: Probably sleeping…it’s the best time to sleep.

VM: Have you had any sight-seeing chances?

JL: Yeah actually.  We get a few hours each place to walk around for a little bit, but sometimes we go way out of the ordinary. Like we actually went to an oyster farm outside of New Haven. A friend of mine runs a sustainable seaweed and oyster farm. So we went out on a boat on the Thimble Islands and like ate oysters, had some tequila in the sunlight. It was pretty nice.

VM: Yeah that’s pretty cool. So is that the highlight?

JL: You know, the highlight may have been that.  The rest of the tour, I forget. It’s just too long ago…I am sure I did something in California, but I can’t remember it.  It’s all a blur.

VM: So what were you doing between [this tour and your previous tour]?

JL: We did a little bit of songwriting. Then we got back and pretty soon afterwards, and then it was the holidays.

VM: The line up has evolved a lot since formation…

JL: Well…I use to be in a solo thing called Onomatopoeia, but it wasn’t really a Flobots thing. We just used the Flobots website. Really the band started in 2005, and then Brer Rabbit and I were both in it then. Then pretty soon after that, it came to be Mackenzie, Jesse, and Kenny in it. It’s changed a little since then, but [it’s pretty much the same].

VM: So do you prefer touring to recording?

JL: I like them both a lot…we recorded a song that we just released called “Bradley Manning”. Personally I love songwriting, but I still love performing. They both are just really different experiences there. One of them is a lot of alone time, and the other one…you are with crowds of people every day. One can be social, and one is anti-social.

So, do you have anyone that you would really want to collaborate with?

JL: You know, I think the thing with collaborations is that you want to make sure you do them because the song calls for it.  I actually…kinda had the experience where all these people you love are doing a song together, and you listen to the song and it sucks.  And you’re like, ‘Man, I waited my whole life for them to collaborate, and the song is not good.’ And so I think it is important to make sure that first and foremost it is about what the song calls for. So, for us, yeah I am a hip hop guy but, when we were making that song ‘White Flag Warrior’ it was like the song asked for Jim from Rise Against, and we reached out to him, and he really brought the missing piece to the song, and so I know that collaboration was the right thing to do. So I think there are tons of artists I love that would be fun for me to collaborate with, but I think we try to put the song first.

VM: So I heard your van broke down?

JL: Yeah! How did you hear that?

VM: Just through coordinating this interview.

JL: Yeah, the transmission is no good. So now they are fixing it, and it just so happens that our tour schedule was really weird and has us going back to Cleveland today after Chicago. After we have already come that way, but it actually ended up being perfect, because we are basically backtracking, and we will be three hours away from where our van broke down.

VM: So how are you getting around now?

JL: We rented a minivan and a truck.

VM: So after this tour wraps up, what is next for y’all?

JL: Record songs.

VM: Have you written them already?

JL: We have a lot of ideas on the whole themes of the songs, and we just have to water them and give them the proper sunlight and let them grow into beautiful new plants.

VM: Sweet! Well thank you for talking to me!

JL: Absolutely, thank you for taking the time.  Thanks for caring!